World Aids Day

Today is World Aids Day and I would be remiss if I let the day go by without passing on these facts.

• We are in the third decade of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Approximately 65 million people worldwide have become infected, including over 25 million who have already died. Half of those newly infected today are under age 25. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is on track to be one of the worst epidemics in human history and, millions more people could become infected by the end of this decade alone, if more is not done. But HIV is preventable.
• The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 500,000 Americans with AIDS have already died and that 1 million more are currently living with HIV/AIDS..
• Young people, especially young women and people of color, have been particularly affected by the epidemic. Young African Americans represented 66% of AIDS cases reported among 13-19 years olds in 2003; Latino teens represented 21%.

• Although African-Americans and Latinos represented 13% and 14% of the U.S. population, respectively, in 2004, they accounted for 49% and 20% of new AIDS diagnoses.
• Advances in treatment have dramatically decreased the number of people who have died of AIDS since the peak in the mid-1990's. However, the number of deaths among people with AIDS has remained relatively steady in recent years.
• As many as one-quarter of those infected with HIV do not know they are HIV- positive.
• Young people ages 15-24 accounted for over 40% of new HIV infections among adults as of the end of 2005.

So get tested, talk openly to your partner about HIV/AIDs an STDs, and use protection ALWAYS.

Since AIDS is such an important issue, I will dedicate at least one blog entry a month on the issue. My hope is to start a dialogue about the issue.